Book Details

About This Book

Configure Reporting, Purchasing, and using the Spiceworks Community to save precious hours and become more efficient

Configure your help desk and user portal to keep track of your work

Who This Book Is For

This book is for any IT pro who wants to make their day easier. With this book, you can go from installing Spiceworks to having a good working knowledge of it in a single afternoon, no Spiceworks experience required! This book assumes no prior experience with Spiceworks.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Setting Up Spiceworks

Installing Spiceworks

Logging in and setting up Spiceworks Admins

Getting into the Spiceworks Community

Summary

Chapter 2: Configuring Network Inventory in Spiceworks

An overview of the Spiceworks network inventory

Setting up a scan in Spiceworks

Navigating the Spiceworks inventory

Customizing groups and scan schedules

Resolving unknown devices

Summary

Chapter 3: Configuring the Spiceworks Help Desk and User Portal

An overview of the Help Desk interface and User Portal

Setting up Spiceworks users, permissions, and e-mail

Standard and Custom Attributes

Creating a ticket in Spiceworks

Extending the User Portal and Help Desk using plugins

Summary

Chapter 4: Configuring Other Spiceworks Features

Reporting in Spiceworks

Network monitoring and alerts in Spiceworks

Purchasing features in Spiceworks

Mobile Device Management in Spiceworks

Other Spiceworks features

Summary

Chapter 5: Taking Spiceworks to the Next Level

Connecting with other IT pros and vendors

Spiceworks extensions in the community

Real-world Spiceworks events

Summary

What You Will Learn

Use tips and tricks to install Spiceworks in your environment

Configure Spiceworks to scan your network and organize the wealth of information that Spiceworks delivers

Set up Help Desk to track issues, time, and improve communication with end users

Utilize the powerful reporting engine of Spiceworks

Configure Self-Service User Portal to open trouble tickets, and serve as a hub for information

Use Spiceworks for Monitoring and Alerts

Set up a knowledge base to document issues and resolutions

Use Spiceworks for IT Purchasing needs to save you money and time

Configure Asset and Warranty information within Spiceworks

In Detail

Over 2 million IT pros have installed Spiceworks. It helps them with their daily tasks, streamlines processes, and even saves them money, all for free! Getting Started with Spiceworks is an ideal resource to install Spiceworks and run it on your network. After all, over 2 million IT pros can’t be wrong, so learn how to join the Spiceworks IT revolution.

"Getting Started with Spiceworks" starts from downloading the app to having a fully functional Spiceworks installation in just a few minutes. It will cover Network Inventory, Help Desk, Self-Service User Portal, knowledge bases, and more in detail for you to get the most out of Spiceworks.Whether you have a decade of experience or you are new to the IT field, Spiceworks has tools for every IT pro's needs. You will learn how to make your daily tasks easier, streamline existing processes, and even save money with Spiceworks.

"Getting Started with Spiceworks" will walk you through the Spiceworks installation step-by-step. It will cover topics such as configuring Spiceworks to scan your network and organize information, setting up Help Desk and Self-Service User Portal, running reports that dazzle and streamline your purchasing process, and connecting with other IT pros around your area or around the world thoroughly.

"Getting Started with Spiceworks" will provide insights and tips from experts on Spiceworks. It is an ideal guide to progress quickly from installation to Spiceworks being an essential part of your IT day.

Authors

Darren Schoen

Darren Schoen has always been passionate about technology. He realized this the first time he logged into Prodigy with his DeskPro (through DOS of course). He has come a long way since those amber screens. Although he spent 16 years in another career, in 2001 he decided to pursue this passion and jumped into the IT field. Today, he is the Director of Technology Infrastructure at Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Ft Lauderdale, FL along with being an official Spice Trainer where he travels around the U.S. educating users on Spiceworks. He is on the board of several organizations, always keeping technology and innovation in focus. If that doesn't keep him busy enough, he is also an active speaker around the U.S. and has written a variety of blogs and articles for many publications. Darren is always plugged in, but when he gets some free cycles, he is known to be an avid gamer, a Doctor Who fan, and enjoys reading Hugh Howey and watching live music. Although technology is his life, he does take time out to watch the moon rise on the beach with his wife, Thais, and walk his Boston Terrier, Rocky.

Nitish Kumar

Nitish Kumar is a Wintel Lead at HT Media Ltd. and an independent tech blogger about various technologies. He has been working on several Microsoft technologies and open source solutions (including but not limited to Spiceworks, ManageEngine Products, Zabbix, MS Active Directory, MS Exchange Servers, and so on) for the past eight years, of which the last couple of years have been spent on bringing cost-effective solutions to corporates to simplify their complex requirements and to improve time management for their staff. He is a technology enthusiast and has been an active participant at various corporate events and public webinars. Mobile technologies have been of special interest to him and he has often written about various gadgets and their respective technologies. Nitish holds an MS degree in Software from the JK Institute of Applied Physics and Technology, and his areas of interest include Microsoft technologies, open source software, and mobile gadgets. He occasionally blogs at http://nitishkumar.net and can be reached over e-mail at nitish@nitishkumar.net.

Alerts & Offers

Series & Level

We understand your time is important. Uniquely amongst the major publishers, we seek to develop and publish the broadest range of learning and information products on each technology. Every Packt product delivers a specific learning pathway, broadly defined by the Series type. This structured approach enables you to select the pathway which best suits your knowledge level, learning style and task objectives.

Learning

As a new user, these step-by-step tutorial guides will give you all the practical skills necessary to become competent and efficient.

Beginner's Guide

Friendly, informal tutorials that provide a practical introduction using examples, activities, and challenges.

Essentials

Fast paced, concentrated introductions showing the quickest way to put the tool to work in the real world.

Cookbook

A collection of practical self-contained recipes that all users of the technology will find useful for building more powerful and reliable systems.

Blueprints

Guides you through the most common types of project you'll encounter, giving you end-to-end guidance on how to build your specific solution quickly and reliably.

Mastering

Take your skills to the next level with advanced tutorials that will give you confidence to master the tool's most powerful features.

Starting

Accessible to readers adopting the topic, these titles get you into the tool or technology so that you can become an effective user.

Progressing

Building on core skills you already have, these titles share solutions and expertise so you become a highly productive power user.